Mick Jagger's girlfriend L'Wren Scott found dead in apartment

Long-term girlfriend of Rolling Stones frontman, whose fashion company was
millions of pounds in debt, 'found hanged' by her assistant in a Manhattan
apartment

L'Wren Scott Photo: ANDREW CROWLEY FOR THE TELEGRAPH

By Gordon Rayner, Hannah Furness and Philip Sherwell in New York

6:56PM GMT 17 Mar 2014

Sir Mick Jagger has been left “completely shocked and devastated” after his girlfriend L’Wren Scott was found hanged in her New York apartment.

The death of the 49-year-old fashion designer, who had been Sir Mick’s partner for almost 13 years, was being treated as suicide by police. It has emerged that her fashion company was millions of pounds in debt.

A medical examiner's van leaves the Chelsea apartment building where Fashion Designer L'Wren Scott was found dead (Getty Images)

Scott was discovered dead by an assistant at 10am local time (2pm GMT) on Monday. She had reportedly texted the same assistant at 8.30am and asked her to come to the apartment.

Sir Mick, 70, had landed in Perth for a Rolling Stones tour of Australia shortly before the news broke, and had posted pictures on Twitter of himself on a beach. The band now seems certain to cancel the tour, which was due to start on Wednesday.

Sir Mick Jagger and L'Wren Scott attend her fashion show during London Fashion Week in September 2013 (REX)

A spokesman for Sir Mick said: “He is completely shocked and devastated by the news. I can’t say any more than that at the moment.”

Those closest to Scott appeared to have had no warning that anything was wrong. Her official Twitter account was even updated by an aide, with a link to a fashion shoot, an hour after police had been called to her apartment.

But her British-based fashion firm, LS Fashion Ltd, was running at a loss of £3.5 million. Accounts filed at Companies House in October show that the company’s deficit in 2012 had grown from £2.5 million the previous year, and had been running at a loss for several years before that.

A total of £4.6 million was owed to creditors, with £1 million falling due for payment to within a year, though the company had £1.1 million worth of assets. Although Sir Mick’s wealth is estimated at £200 million, Scott is reported to have been “embarrassed” at her company’s losses.

Her computer was among the items taken from Scott’s apartment by coroner’s officers.

In February, Scott cancelled her London Fashion Week show due to "production delays". But, according to one report on Monday, the real reason was because Scott could not afford to stage it.

There had also been reports that she was keen to have children and wanted to marry Sir Mick.

At the weekend she was not present at a joint baby shower for Sir Mick’s 42-year-old daughter Jade, who is expecting in May, and Jade’s daughter Assisi, 21, whose own baby is due in April. The party was reportedly organised by Sir Mick’s ex-wife Jerry Hall at the former marital home in Richmond, west London. Neither Sir Mick nor Scott were able to attend, as both were abroad.

Sources in the US said that no note was found in Scott’s apartment on Eleventh Avenue in Manhattan. A New York Police Department spokesman said: "Upon arrival, officers discovered a 49-year-old female unconscious and unresponsive.

Sir Mick Jagger and designer L'Wren Scott in 2011 (Getty Images)

"She was pronounced dead on arrival. The investigation is ongoing. The medical examiners will determine the cause of death." The source said that foul play was not suspected.

Sir Mick’s first wife, Bianca Jagger, said she was: “Heartbroken to learn of the loss of the lovely and talented L’Wren Scott. My thoughts and prayers are with her family. May she rest in peace.”

&lt;noframe&gt;Twitter: Bianca Jagger - Heartbroken to learn of the loss of the lovely and talented L'Wren Scott. My thoughts and prayers are with her family. May she rest in peace&lt;/noframe&gt;

Naomi Campbell, the model and a close friend of Scott's, said: "I am deeply shocked and devastated by the news. L'Wren was someone I knew since I was 17. We travelled the world together many times. L'Wren was someone I always loved. She was the epitome of elegance and femininity yet still had a girlish quality. I will miss her honesty and I will miss her friendship. My heart goes out to Mick and all who loved her and were loved by her. May she rest in peace."

The make-up artist Bobbi Brown, who collaborated with Miss Scott in February on a cosmetics line called the Bobbi Brown x L'Wren Scott Collection, said: “I am devastated by the tragic news about L'Wren. She was a visionary designer who I very much enjoyed working with, but she was also smart and kind.”

The entertainer Bette Midler described Scott as “a rare, wonderful, talented soul” and Alexandra Shulman, editor of British Vogue, said: "L'Wren Scott had a very clear notion of style which informed everything she did.

"It's not easy making the transition from stylist to designer, but every year L'Wren's recognition as a designer and creator of a brand was increasing."

The singer Madonna said: "This is a horrible and tragic loss. I'm so upset. I loved L'Wren's work and she was always so generous with me."

The 6ft 3in designer founded her own fashion label in 2006 and was a favourite of Hollywood stars, including Nicole Kidman and Angelina Jolie, as well as US First Lady Michelle Obama. She recently signed a deal with the clothes shop chain Banana Republic for a more affordable range of clothing.

Born Luann Bambrough in Utah, adopted as a baby and raised as a Mormon, Scott was 6ft tall by the age of 12 and learned to make her own clothes because it was impossible to find anything in shops that fitted her.

L'Wren Scott at a 1992 photocall (Rex)

She scraped together enough money for a one-way ticket to Paris and found work as a catwalk model for Chanel, thanks in part to her 42in legs. But she found that she took more pleasure from making clothes than wearing them, and moved to Los Angeles, where she began to work as a stylist and a costume designer for films, including Eyes Wide Shut and Ocean's Thirteen.

More recently she had based herself in New York, living in one of Manhattan’s most expensive and prestigious new tower blocks, 200 Eleventh Avenue, nicknamed the Sky Garage as it features a car elevator that lifts owners’ vehicles to private garages attached to each apartment.

The Chelsea apartment building in New York City, where the body of L'Wren Scott was found (Getty Images)

Neighbours in the tower block include Nicole Kidman, who bought a fourth-floor apartment for $9.6 million (£5.7 million) in 2011 and Domenico Dolce, of the Italian fashion duo Dolce & Gabbana, who paid $29 million (£17 million) for two apartments that he then combined.

A spokesman for the British Fashion Council said: "We are deeply saddened at the news of L'Wren Scott's tragic death.

"She was an iconic woman who inspired so many, and a designer whose contributions to the fashion industry were both extraordinary and unique.

"She will leave behind an exceptional legacy, however we are so incredibly proud to have had her in our midst."